The present inventions relate in general to routing audio signals in an electronic device and in particular to routing audio signals among multiple audio devices.
Electronic devices, such as computer systems or wireless cellular telephones or other data processing systems, may often be used with peripheral devices. A peripheral device, such as a wired or wireless headset or a wireless or wired keyboard or a wired or wireless cursor control device, is coupled to the electronic device which may be referred to as a host system. The peripheral typically provides input and/or output capabilities to the electronic device.
The peripheral may also be configured to operate with only one particular electronic device or host. For example, a wireless headset peripheral may be paired with a designated wireless cellular telephone so that it communicates with that designated wireless cellular telephone rather than other wireless cellular telephones which are within radio range of the wireless headset. This allows a user to operate the wireless headset with its designated wireless cellular telephone even though it may be surrounded by other wireless cellular telephones which are within the radio range of the wireless headset. Thus, the wireless headset in this case includes some intelligence or data which allows it to selectively operate with a designated host system, but there is no further processing or sensing capability in the wireless headset. A Bluetooth pairing or partnership is an example of a relationship created between a peripheral and a host. It is created by the user in order to exchange information in a secure manner. Creating a Bluetooth partnership between two devices involves entering the same personal identification number (PIN) or passkey on both devices; creating such a partnership is a one-time process. Once a partnership is created, the devices can recognize the partnership and exchange information without entering a PIN again.
Routing audio signals in an electronic device having only two internal audio devices, such as an earpiece and a speaker, requires switching between the two devices. However, if the electronic device also is connected to an audio peripheral, the routing of audio signals becomes ambiguous. Thus, the electronic device should determine how to route audio signals among the multiple audio devices. Typically, the routing choice is left to the user. However, prior art electronic devices do not allow the user to easily select an audio device when an audio application is initiated. Moreover, prior art electronic devices do not allow the user to easily select a newly connected audio peripheral while an audio application is executing.